Cardless Adds Award Fee Waiver Benefit to Qatar Airways Cards

If you hold a Qatar Airways-branded credit card issued in the U.S., you have a new benefit, effective immediately: taxes and fees on Qatar Airways award bookings paid with the card will be refunded in full.

The benefit applies to the Qatar Airways Privilege Club Infinite Credit Card and Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa Signature Credit Card, issued by fintech firm Cardless, and kicks in only if cardholders meet certain conditions, detailed below.

New Qatar Airways Fee Benefit

The change appears in the terms and conditions for the Qatar Airways-branded cards, which explain that there is a spending threshold in order for the benefit to kick in, namely:

• You qualify for the refund if you make at least $15,000 of eligible purchases within the first 12 months from account opening. The benefit will then be valid for a year.
• In years 2 and beyond, you need to make $25,000 in eligible purchases with the card per year to remain eligible for the refund benefit.

To get the benefit, you must book the award flights on qatarairways.com, the airline’s mobile app, or its phone contact centers. The refunded award-booking fees, which can amount to $600 in Qatar Airways first and business class, will appear as statement credits after the award flights are completed.

Is This Benefit Worth the Spending Requirements?

There’s no answer that applies to everyone on the question of whether the benefit is worth the large spending requirements. You have to consider whether you book award flights on Qatar Airways often enough.

Spending even $15,000 on 1 credit card to get a savings of $600 may not be worth it for you. That applies even more after the first year when you need to spend $25,000 to get the refund.

The math changes if you book more than 1 award flight on Qatar Airways first or business class per year. If you book 2, for example, a benefit of $1,200 for $25,000 in spending equals a decent 4.8% return. That would be in addition to the value of the Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios you would earn on that spending. We value Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios at 1.25 cents each, according to our latest points valuations.

Taxes and fees on Qatar Airways economy class award bookings are lower, at about $300.

Details of the Qatar Airways U.S. Credit Cards

Qatar Airways offers two credit cards in the U.S. market, both issued by Cardless and both carrying annual fees: the Qatar Airways Privilege Club Infinite Credit Card (annual fee of $499) and the Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa Signature Credit Card (annual fee of $99).

Both are geared toward people who spend heavily on Qatar Airways flights, with earnings rates that privilege spending on flights with the airline.

Qatar Airways is a member of the Oneworld alliance, along with American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and British Airways. This means you can redeem Qatar Airways Avios to book flights on Qatar’s alliance partners.

Final Thoughts

There is a new benefit available for cardholders of the two Qatar Airways-branded cards issued in the U.S. They can now have taxes and fees on Qatar Airways award bookings refunded, a benefit that could save $600 every time it is used (and there are no limits to how often you can use it).

However, you need to look carefully at the numbers and whether you plan to make any Qatar Airways award bookings before deciding if this new benefit makes either of the cards a good choice for you.